Celebrity Birthdays, June 7: Iggy Azalea, Prince and Liam Neeson

Australian recording artist and model Iggy Azalea turns 24 today. Born Amethyst Amelia Kelly, Azalea is from Mullumbimby, New South Wales. She moved to the United States at the age of 16, first staying in Miami, Florida, and then moving to Houston, Texas and Atlanta, Georgia. She first gained recognition after her controversial songs “Pu$$y” and “Two Times” went viral on YouTube. Between 2011 and 2012, Azalea released two mixtapes, an EP executive produced by American rapper T.I., and went into professional modeling, becoming represented by Wilhelmina Models and was announced the “New Face of Levi Jeans”.

Azalea’s debut studio album, The New Classic, was released on April 21, 2014, and contains the popular singles “Work,” “Bounce,” “Change Your Life” featuring T.I. and “Fancy” featuring Charli XCX. “Fancy” became a top ten hit and reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Azalea became the fourth solo female rapper to ever top the Hot 100. Azalea is also featured on Ariana Grande’s single “Problem,” which reached No. 2 on the Hot 100; Azalea joined The Beatles as the only acts to rank at Nos. 1 and 2 simultaneously with their first two Hot 100 hits.

Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actor Prince turns 56 today. Prince released his debut album, For You, in 1978. His 1979 album, Prince, went platinum and contained the singles “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?” and “I Wanna Be Your Lover.” His next three records, Dirty Mind, Controversy and 1999 continued his successful streak. In 1984, Prince made his film debut in Purple Rain, and released a soundtrack of the same name.

Prince released 10 platinum albums and 30 Top 40 singles during his career. He has earned 33 Grammy nominations, winning seven Grammy awards in total. His albums 1999 and Purple Rain were awarded the Grammy Hall of Fame Award.